Our favourite festivals in Argentina & Chile

If you’re planning a holiday in Argentina and Chile, you can easily coincide your trip with one of the country’s many colourful celebrations. From folk festivals and carnivals to gay parades and tango performances; there’s plenty to choose from when it comes to festivals in Argentina and Chile.

Folk Festivals & Carnivals

The Cosquín Folk Festival is one of the biggest folk music festivals in Argentina and the most important in Latin America. Spanning nine days in the second half of January, this festival has been held in Cosquín, within the province of Córdova since 1961. All the action takes place in the main square called ‘Prospero Molina’, and here you will see some of the most popular musicians and dancers of the country.

Towards the end of January and beginning of February is the famous Gualeguaychu Carnival which takes place in the province of Entre Rios, on the east border to Urugua. The Gualeguaychu Carnival is one of the biggest carnivals in Argentina and calls itself the ‘country’s carnival’. During this colourful celebration, you’ll find comparsas (groups of people dancing and dressed in colourful suits), murgas (bands of street musicians) and other artists participate in giant parades or Corsos, along the streets. Each of these groups compete against each other for the title of ‘kings of the carnival’.

A Taste of Tango

If you visit Buenos Aires during an Argentina holiday between February and March, you’ll find a city full of tango. This is all down to the Buenos Aires Tango Festival which has been in full swing since 1999 and is organised by the Argentine ministry of culture. During this festival, you can try out some free tango classes, watch performances and for those who want to join the festival but not the rest of the festivities, there are plenty of other parties on offer.

In April in Chile, the Semana Santa (Easter) is an important holiday week which is celebrated throughout the the country. During this time, the streets are filled with parades, floats, and celebrations.

The 25th of May is a special day for Argentinians due to the May revolution in 1810, which lead to Argentina gaining independence on the 9th of July in 1816. Since then, locals celebrate the 25th of May as national day. Massive celebrations of the holiday have been a tradition during the 19th century and part of the 20th century, but were slowly forgotten by the end of it. However, in 2010 a group called Argentina Bicentennial made a campaign to raise awareness about the roots of the day, which still runs to this day.

Local Traditions & Colourful Parades

The first two weeks in September are celebrated by Argentinians as the Fiesta del inmigrante is hosted in the city of Oberá. This festival takes traditionally in the Parque de las Naciones, where the different communities showcase their different customs though dance, food, clothing and related activities.

If you’re heading on an Argentina holiday in November, then why not check out the Buenos Aires Gay Parade which takes place every year on the first Saturday in November. This festival celebrates the first gay group in Argentina in 1969. Here you can soak up the party atmosphere and enjoy a colourful parade that begins at Plaza de Mayo and ends at Avenida de Mayo.